Acharya Hemchandra was born in 1088 A .D. into the Modha Vanik
(merchant) caste, in the town of Dhandhuka, sixty miles from the
city Ahmedabad in Gujarat State. His parents were Chachadev and
Pahini. When Pahini was pregnant, she had a beautiful dream. She
narrated her dream to Acharya Devasuri, who was in Dhandhuka at
that time. The acharya said that Pahini was to give birth to a
son who would make great progress in the areas of spiritual
knowledge, intuition, and conduct. Upon the birth the child was
named Changdeva.

The next time Acharya Devasuri was in Dhandhuka, he saw Pahini
carrying her son. He said to Pahini, "Let me take care of
this brilliant son. He is destined to be a great spiritual
leader." However, he could not convince her to give him her
son. The acharya kept pursuing and reminding that her son would
become a famous monk and would glorify the Jain Order. Again, he
requested that she should sacrifice her self-interest and love
for the child for the good of the people. Ultimately, Pahini let
the acharya take her son with him.

He initiated Changdeva into monkshood and named him
Somachandra. The disciple was very intelligent and soon mastered
the darshanas, scriptures, nyaya, grammar, etc. At the same time,
he cultivated excellent virtues like forbearance, tolerance,
holiness, simplicity, discipline, chastity, and generosity.
Somachandra was incomparable in administration and efficiency.
Acharaya Devasuri made Somachandra an acharya when he was only
twenty-one years old. At that time, he was given the name
Hemchandra Acharya.

The fame of Hemchandra's efficacy and knowledge gradually
spread everywhere. The noble culture was on the rise in Gujarat
due to the ability of Hemchandra and the cooperation of King
Siddharaja of Gujarat. King Siddharaja was succeeded by Kumarpal.
Hemchandra had predicted seven years earlier that Kumarpal would
be the king. Also, the acharya had once saved Kumarpal's life.
Therefore, Kumarpal considered Hemchandra his spiritual teacher
(guru) and benefactor. Kumarpal gave him the exceptional honor
and sought his advice in the shaping of his kingdom in Gujarat.
In a very short time, Gujarat became a center of non-violence,
learning, and good culture.

Hemchandra did not only think of the development of his own
career, but always thought of the universal welfare. In spite of
this, some Brahmins were very jealous about this and they were
trying to disgrace Hemchandracharya and Jainism. Therefore, some
Brahmins approached King Kumarpal and said,
"Hemchandracharya is a very egoistic person and he does not
respect Hindu Gods." King Kumarpal was not ready to accept
these views about his spiritual teacher, Hemchandracharya.
Brahmins requested King Kumarpal that he should invite
Hemchandracharya to come to the temple of Lord Shiva (God of
destruction). The purpose of this was to humiliate
Hemchandracharya because they thought he would not go to the
temple of Lord Shiva and bow down to him. When Hemchandracharya
came, King Kumarpal said, "We would go to the temple of Lord
Shiva." He accepted the offer without any hesitation.
Brahmins were happy in their mind thinking that they would be
able to make their point today and glorify their religion. Yet,
they were wrong. They underestimated Hemchandracharya. To the
surprise of those Brahmins, Hemchandracharya bowed down in front
of Lord Shiva but by saying,

"Bhavbijaskurajanana ragadayah
kshaymupagata yasya; Brahma va Vishnurva haro Jino va
namastasmai." Meaning, "I am bowing down to that
god, who has destroyed the passions like attachment (Rag) and
hatred (Dwesh) which are the cause of worldly life, whether he is
Brahma, Vishnu, or Jina."

This showed that indeed the acharya was genius and had a
broad-minded attitude based on basic Jain principles. Under
Hemchandra's influence, King Kumarpal accepted the Jainism. He
prohibited violence and killing of any animal in his kingdom.
King Kumarpal made many laws that nurtured the Jain religion.
Vegetarianism was found not only in the Jains, but also in all
the people of Gujarat. Jainism became the land of the region.

Hemchandra composed several literary works that included many
verses. The acharya was the first one to put non-violence on a
political platform. He was the architect of the greatness and
unity of Gujarat. In the field of metaphysics, he was a Yogi. His
work Yoga-Shastra, a treatise on yoga, is very famous. People
called him 'Kali-kala Sarvajna' meaning all-knower in the
dark period. He died in 1173 A. D. at the age of
eighty-four. The Jain culture still shines brightly in Gujarat,
due to the influence of the literary works contributed by the
great Acharya Hemchandra.